"I saw I had space ahead of me, but then two defenders converged on me,” he said. “I faked with my right foot and kicked it with my left foot over his head to the far post.

"Maybe it caught the goalkeeper by surprise. Maybe it was luck."

The USA team, which included goalkeeper Tony Meola, plus midfielders John Harkes and Tab Ramos, among others, held on in front of a partisan crowd that was clad completely in red.

"This game will have a tremendous impact on the sport in the United States," Caligiuri said that day in a locker room that was part New Year's Eve and part Mardi Gras. "It was the single-most important game we ever won.

"It proves to the rest of the world we can play and we can qualify. We all knew what was on the line for the future of soccer in the United States."

Caligiuri turned out to be correct.

Since then, U.S. soccer has grown in stature, domestically and internationally.

On the domestic front, the Americans added Major League Soccer, of which most teams have soccer-specific stadiums, and a minor-league system that allows players to develop.

Internationally, the USA men have qualified for seven successive World Cups and has become a CONCACAF power, winning five Gold Cups, most recently in 2013. The American women have dominated international soccer, winning seven CONCACAF championships, two Women's World Cups, and four Olympic gold medals.

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